I’m Watch: Android on Your Wrist

I have a confession to make. I actually own a Fossil Palm OS watch. It seemed like an interesting idea, but it was huge. Now I’m Watch (an Italian company) has create an Android Watch. It looks very slick, but as best as I can see, all the images on their web site are graphic renderings at this point.

Here are the specs:

i.MX233 processor (ARM926EJ-S)

64 MB RAM

4 GB Flash

1.54″ 240 by 240 pixel (220 ppi)

Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

Standby 48 hours w/o Bluetooth

Standby up to 30 hours w/ Bluetooth

Talk time up to 2 hours

70 gr weight for Color version

Let’s take a closer look:

The watch looks very slim:

Inputs/Outputs:

It looks like the 3.5mm headphone jack also is used to power it, so some sort of special USB cable must be included.

The Controls:

What Does It Do?

It’s not an Android phone, but it does run Android apps and can pair with your Android device, iPhone 4 (they specify 4) and eventually the Blackberry (site claims January, 2012).

It’s not quite Dick Tracy’s watch, but it connects to your phone via Bluetooth and you can see who is calling on your watch rather than get your phone out of your pocket or purse. You can also use the watch as a speakerphone (it has a mic and speaker), see sender and subject of any e-mail delivered to your smartphone, and get your Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare notifications.

It appears they will have their own appstore (I’m store) and they mention downloading music from something called , you guessed it, I’music. They do mention being open to developers, but it is not clear if you can load your own apps and music.

It’s an intriguing product for this Android fan and ex Fossil Palm Watch user. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this watch. The downside? The watch is listing for 249 € (about $363 today). What do you think? Is it closer to a Dick Tracy watch, or another Fossil failure? (Hat Tip: @MikeElgan)

All is good. But the cost seems so high. I will actually get a reasonably good Android phone itself for that price. Hope the price comes down for people to actually start buying it. Else, it would just become another gadget that did not see more light.

the whole web design has the look of Apple to it and in essence its a Ipod Nano on a watch strap, which is a product already availble at apple stores ?
even the graphics it looks to display are very very Iphone looking… if it is going to be andriod it would look like above … would it .. the icons look to be ripped straight of an apple product ? plus why would support an iphone4 and not a 3gs … technically the same device ..
surely this is breaking some apple patents ?

It’s a neat idea, but too expensive. At about $320 American I could buy a whole new phone. Actually, I wouldn’t pay more than $100 for a device like this unless it were waterproof and came with a lifetime guarantee or something.

It deems like what this device does could be accomplished with an iPod nano if Apple were so inclined to modify that device’s firmware, of if jailbreak devs were motivated enough to root that particular device and then build copycat software for it.

i don’t think it’s legit before i don’t see real videos. they said orders will be delivered 90 days after placing the order so we should see some watches now in real life. but there ain’t any so far and posting a video of something so new on youtube is the first thing people will do who bought one.
there is a lot of time still between a working prototype and rolled out orders and there are no videos of prototypes so there won’t be production orders any time soon.
also the models show a curved screen, thats something that has only very recently has been presented by samsung.
wouldn’t put a order on that product at the moment. smells fishy.

@Aguero Thanks for the link. That is significantly thicker than the prototype pictures. Android 1.6 is kind of a bummer, but considering the size of the device, and the fact that it is more accessory than primary device, may be OK.

Yes, I believe this is a SCAM. I paid also 50% of the price in November 2011 and have been trying to get a confirmation via the ticket system since the beginning of February 2012 and never get a reply or a shimmer indication that my order has been processed or whatever. So, people … watch out and don’t place any order until someone really has proof that A WATCH has been delivered and received.

I paid half, then paid 2nd half, no communication for months, no watch, no response, emails asking me to pay again!!! I am thinking scam as well. But, they were at CES showing the watch so it would have to be an elaborate one. But then again, if you have ever been to Italy, they could just be typical “relaxed” Italians taking their time. Not everything is handled there the same as in US or UK. Hoping this is what it is.

Also, i am upset because when i ordered this watch 4 months ago, they only claimed it was bluetooth connection, now they say tethering which my phone plan doesnt support. So feel duped, even if i do get it, cant do much with it.

No haven’t gotten it. Now they say I didn’t make the second payment but only the first payment on two watches.. Their merchant system won’t let me pay the second half because it keeps declining me even with my bank’s fraud dept on the phone to watch the transaction to let it through. Keep in mind I was able to pay twice no problem apparently through the same system.

The bank was watching my account in real time while I was trying to pay and they said it was strange because they didn’t even see a transaction nevermind a decline. I am a cyber security professional and tonne it could be that they are harvesting credit card info. So check your statements very closely.

I’m watch won’t resolve it. They want me to do a bank transfer. Right like this doesn’t seem sketchy enough and I am goon to give them my bank info. So I have requested a refund and they say it will take 15 days. Italian time perhaps? If they don’t my Visa will do it for them so not worried.

Kwep in mind all the whole I never get any answers as to when this watch will ship if I could close the balance. Either this is the most screwed up company ever (and the product will suck) or is a scam. I feel scammed anyway…

Use this link http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
and type in the company’s address, which is
“Piazza Luigi Di Savoia 22 Milano 20729 Italy”.
Comes up as an appartment block in Milan. This has to be a scam. And this gadget looked so awesome :(.

Guys i have been chasing there asses since i preordered last october there customer service is a joke and take weeks to answer see below my latest info i got from them they had already said it was shipping to me in 22 days all bullshit something isnt right BEWARE I SENSE A BIG SCAM

Dear Customer,
we appreciate the patience you’ve shown so far regarding the delivery of i’m Watch. We are aware that you have encountered some inconveniences and that, above all, you were not able to use a device that grows every day further interest around the world.

Unfortunately we have verified once more the validity of that saying: “The best is the enemy of the good!”
What do we mean?

We want to tell you today with great transparency and humbleness that, not only have we met all the difficulties of an extremely innovative and ambitious project (and the unforeseen events that have surpassed any logical expectation), but we have especially given into the temptation of implementing some modifications in order to increase and improve the adaptability of i’m Watch towards the future development of technology (for example, enabling it to handle a larger number of apps than initially expected). All of these factors brought us to lose precious time and, particularly, has prevented us from providing you some certain dates for the delivery.

But we are now able to define them as follows, taking into account that we intend to conduct a last serious testing program with our customers:

1) By June 15th we will provide i’m Watch to a group of 300 customers, who will cooperate with us for a final and ultimate check, to be completed by July 15th. We will ask them to give regular feedback on their experience, which will be reported in a public blog on the website http://www.imwatch.it in order to allow you to follow its evolution as well.

2) Starting July 15th we will begin to ship the product to all those who have an unsent order. We expect to fulfill the delivery for all current orders within and no later than September 15th.

Given that we understand that you might have lost interest in the purchase, we decided to offer you the following possibilities:

• Giving up the purchase and requesting an immediate refund of the paid amount, providing by July 15th an e-mail to the following address, if you are residing in Italy: assistenza.italia@imwatch.it, or to the following: assistance.world@imwatch.it if you are residing abroad.
• If instead you are willing to wait until the expected date of delivery, you will receive at the delivery a 15% discount on the price paid.

We thank you for your cooperation, very confident that i’m Watch will fully meet your expectations.
Best regards.

Manuel Zanella and Massimiliano Bertolini
President and CEO of i’m Spa

Yep, i can confirm i think this is a scam as well. I too received the email from the CEO as Johnny posted.

In addition, i took them up on their offer for a refund. It gets worse. I paid with a credit card but they are telling me that they need my BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS to process a return. When asked why this is they tell me that since my transaction is from 2011 they have no way of reversing the transaction other than bank transfer.

This would mean for anyone that did a pre-order and paid by credit card needs to give them bank info? This is such a scam. I am just going to report this as fraud to my bank. Done with these people, probably are running this company from Nigeria.

might be a good idea to get a new credit card issued and watch your statements as well.

@tgold, Honestly, I am really bummed that this may be a scam, and that I posted about it. However, I’m not sure I accept the charge that I was praising the product. I just found something cool, and passed on the information. In fact, in re-reading it, I don’t think it was a glowing endorsement. There were a lot of “it appears” type statements, and I even pointed out that the images appeared to be computer renderings. I compare it to the startling success of the Fossil Palm Watch 😉 and end with an I’ll keep an eye on it “endorsement”.

But again, still bummed if anyone loses money over this. Just not sure how to fix this in the future. It’s not like Julie will pay my way to Italy to check out something like this, or will she? 🙂

Bryan – Don’t feel bad. I was not trying to place blame and my comments perhaps came out pointed but were not intended to be.

I have the responsibility of purchasing items at my own risk. However as a journalist, would be a good practice to somehow vette those products before broadcast commentary. See above that someone typed their address into google maps and comes up as an apartment building. Not good.

so it was meant more that if we, as a community could do a better job, would be great. No foul, keep writing good stuff

Well, if anyone on this thread can believe it, i got a shipment tracking number yesterday from I’m watch and DHL says it has left their facility. It won’t even make it here by the revised date, but close. Now if I just don’t receive a piece of buggy crap and works as expected will be a miracle. Even if it does, likely won’t get support for when something DOES go wrong (if the company even stays afloat).

Only reason I didn’t cancel my item is because i would rather eBay the item rather than trying to get a refund (and likely get neither product nor refund). Perhaps there is some hope, albeit never too much to expect in the first place….

…maybe that is their strategy, lower the bar so low you will be impressed that anythings shows up…will post once i receive.

That is great news. Well, OK, it is good news (I mean the fact that it has taken so long). We look forward to hearing back. I’m still waiting for my Pebble, but I certainly cannot compare my delay with yours.

I debated funding Pebble as well. First in absence of my believing that i would see my I’m Watch and secondly, sleeker, longer batter life, and a US-based company with some level of transparency has its benefits.

Although looks like Pebble is now having their own issues. What is clear is that there is a market and demand for intelligent watches…why won’t apple or Samsung take this on? In fact with the recent announcement of the new iPod lineup, the nano watch is dying from their perspective. Not mine as i use it to run with Bluetooth.

It would be a great topic for someone to do an in-depth story on…metrics of the demand, vendors pursuing to fill it, and Apple and Samsung’s reasons for reluctance. Just an idea.

It arrived. Wow. DHL showed it in Germany last night and got it here to CA this morning. Unboxed, charging, playing with it now.

First impressions is that the watch band is bulker than expected while the hardware component is not. Nothing that i can’t wear though and still aesthetically big improvement than other watches.

Touch screen is sensitive enough it seems even without removing the plastic. Positive there. Pairing it was wonky, but got it to pair, unpair and pair again within a few minutes.

Nothing has happened with the apps. Seems that you need to tie your apps to I’m Cloud and the iphone is only a network pipe to get data for apps from the cloud. I thought I’m would get the data from the apps on my iphone…no dice. Perhaps not a big deal but concerned about using their cloud for security reasons.

Will report more after full setup, but i guess the company is for real….

oh and to answer the question of size etc, i would say it looks EXACTLY like the picture in this article except i would add 10% on size (band width and thickness of hardware). Still borders on sleek, and the screen display is exact (really good).

Navigating through menus is sensitive though does not function like a nano. Some swiping, but not consistent motions like Apple. Will need to play with it more. Overall pretty good, 7 out of 10 for screen and performance and will get better with firmware update i am sure (if they don’t fold)

1. Can only map one email account to the device. Unfortunately, i have many.
2. Same for calendar
3. Can only have a maximum of three stocks to track. Yes – 3! Who tracks just three?
4. Limit to one twitter account
5. 3 news topics maximum. sucks
6. If you have thick wrists, won’t fit correctly (won’t stay shut)
7. Facebook seems to only give you notifications if someone messages you. Not a news feed
8. Unlike Facebook, twitter does give you the whole feed. Nice job of it too. Unfortunately only one account.
9. Notifications are good/bad. Need to be more evolved. For example, i can put into silent or audible mode but cannot select which applications are silent. So, i get an audible beep every time twitter has a new tweet. This is horrible. But don’t want to go silent because then all my other apps are silent. It is all or nothing. Kind of sucks.
10. Google integration. They make you sign in via your google account to their cloud to get to settings. Unfortunately, the login doesn’t work. It goes to a blank page. It works when you log directly into google and go to the cloud. Bad thing about this is that if you are using google two-step authentication, you need to go into the right account you are trying to enable at the same time. Log out of others. Or will enable a different account and won’t even tell you.
11. Phone. This actually works. Well to. I can see who is calling and even dial out from watch and speak as if it is a speaker phone. Mute from it, hang up, answer. etc. Pretty cool actually don’t have to reach for my phone at my desk, etc.

All in all, the devices is fine and the good news is that everything is a firmware or service improvement (the watch band should be easy). Looking forward to more updates for the device to make it more realistic.

I think i am going to write a lengthy blog on this after a few more days

Unfortunately with my experience with this company I would advise everyone to steer well clear. It looks good but … the company overcharged me for the product, it has been delayed a couple of times already and I’m still waiting for a refund. You have been warned.

waiting now since November 2010 for my watch. Was promised for the 15th of February 2013. No answer on tickets…….no answer to phone calls…..looks like I lost a lot of money.
As Barry said: Don´t order, you have been warned.

What’s Julie working on?

I don't normally wear a watch, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating the look and features of the current crop of smartwatches that are on the market like the TicWatch Pro which has two different displays that give it extra battery life beyond a typical smartwatch. Stay tuned for my review coming soon. Please follow The Gadgeteer or register for our newsletter so you won't miss my review. (8/13)